Zither-piano.



J. A. BOBHRINGER.

ZITHBR PIANO. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18,1908.

Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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Patented Apr. 13, 1909. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. A. BOEHRINGER.

ZITHER PIANO. APPLIOATION FILED JAN.18,1908.

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JOSEPH A. BOEHRINGER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

ZTHER-HLANO.

Specification oi Letters Patent.

Application led January 18, 1908.

Patented April 13, 1909.

Serial No` l11,401.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Josnrn A. Boni-i- RrNGnn, a citizen ol the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county ol Erie and State oi' New York, have invented a new and usel'ul Improvement in Zither- Pianos, of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to a musical instrument comprising a Zither or similar stringed sound-board, mechanism lor picking the strings and a key -board lor operating the picker mechanism.

One ol the objects ol' my inventionis to so combine the Zither with the piano-case that the Zither can be readily withdrawn for conveniently tuning, reestringing or repairing it.

A l'urther object is to so construct the instrument as to secure simplicity and compactness.

A further object is the provision ol' a simple and effective picker mechanism which is not liable to get out oi order.

ln the accompanying drawings consisting oi' 2 sheets: Figure 1 is a vl'ront elevation ol the instrument, Awith the casing partly broken away. 2 is a horizontal section in line 2 2, Fig. l. is a fragmentary vertical section ol one ol' the shifting bars ol' the piclier mechanism on an enlarged scale. i is a side elevati-ni the instrument. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section thereol in line 5-5, ilig. l. ll'igs. o, 7, 8 and 9 are side views ol' a pair ol carrying and shiiting bars, showing different positions ol the same and the picker-lever.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts throughout the several views.

The instrument shown in the drawings is a comparatively small one el three oct-aves designed to be carried lrom place to place, but the invention is equally applicable to large instruments oi the size o'll ordinary pianos.

rEhe case A is rectangular similar to that oi' an ordinary upright piano and may be provided at the rear ol its top with a raised pertion B to which a desir B1 ol' ordinary construction may bc pivoted.

C is the sounding board or boi; ol' a Zither or similar stringed instrument which is arranged in an upright position in the narrow lower portion oi the case substantially parallel with the l'ront and rear walls ol' the latter. The Zither' is prelerabl removable through one side el' the case, and lor this purpose it is guided at its top and bottoni between upper and lower horizontal guide rails D, D1 supported at their ends by upriglits D2 secured to the side walls olI the case. a door E ol any suitable construction through which the Zither may be withdrawn, as shown by dotted lines in F ig. 1, to permit convenient access to it 'lor tuning or repairing it, or renewing the strings.

ln order to increase the compactness ol the instrument and provide a comparatively large number olI strings within a small space, the strings c are strung on both sides ol' the sound board, as shown in F ig. 5.

F indicates the keys arranged in the upper enlarged portion ol the case and l'ulorumed near their rear ends upon a longitudinal pivot-rod j" supported by end-pieces liT1 secured to the side walls oi the case, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

lWith each string of the Zither, a pickerlever G cooperates which is actuated by the piano key corresponding to the string, through the medium ol' the following mechanism: l-l, l indicate a pair oi' upright bars arranged edge to edge and guided at their upper and lower ends in slots or combs d l'ormed in the upper and lower guide-rails l), B1. A row oi' such twin-bars is arranged on each side oix the Zither and a pair ol' the bars is arranged under and cooperates with each piano-hey. For distinction, the inner bar lil ol each pair will be termed the carrying bar and the outer one l the shifting bar. rlhe shitting bar l is connected at its upper end with the corresponding hey, pre'lerably by a flat spring constructed to constantly press the upper end oi said bar against the companion carrying bar l'l and the latter against the end oll the corresponding guideslot. The lower portion ol the shil'ting bar l is pressed against the adjacent portion or the bar H by a suitable spring jl preferably constructed to perform not only that Ylunction but also to elevate the bar l when the latter is depressed and released, so as to return it and the depressed pianokey to their normal position. ln the preferred l'orm shown in the drawings, the spring jl is bowed or C-shaped and secured at its ends to the adjacent lower guide bar D1 and the shifting bar l. Each of the picker-levers G is piv- 'oted by a pin or screw g to one side ol' the corresponding carrying bar H, and its lower arm carries a spring-linger g1 adapted to snap over the corresponding string ol' the Zither One of said side walls is provided with y lli) Cfr

for sounding the same When the picker-lever I eled tace 7c1 in the same nninner as its downdescends with the bars H and l. The pivot of the lever is preferably arranged about midway oil its ends and opposite the pivot the lever is provided with a lateral roch-arm g2 pivoted at g3 to the companion shitting bar l. et one end, the picker-lever is provided with spaced lugs or stops gl, g5 adapted to alternately strike a stop-pin l secured to the carrying bar li between said lugs. The carrying bar is provided with suitable means for retarding or arresting it during the initial portion oi the movements o'll the shifting bar l when the latter is depressed or raised. For this purpose, the carrying bar ll is preferably provided on its inner edge at or near its upper and lower ends with beveled or inclined faces 7c, irl which bear against the inner ends olVl the guide slots in the rails D, l?. ln their preferred torni, these beveled faces both recede toward the center of the bar, as shown in lligs. 5 to 9, inclusive. The adjoining edges oll the bars of a pair are straight and bear against each other, While the beveled laces lc, irl ol.l the carrying bar bear against the inner ends of the guide slot d under the stress oi' the springs y, yl.

The operation ot the picker-mechanism is as tollowsz-ln the normal position of the lreys, the bars ll and l are elevated, as slioivn in igs. i, 5 and 6, and the outer lugs ol' the picker-levers G bear against the stoppins l, in which 'position the picheringer g1 stands adjacent to but not over the corresponding string. Upon depressing a key, the corresponding shiiting bar l descends with the liey and during the initial movement ol this bar, the companion carrying bar E remains stationary owing to the l'act that the irictional resistance between its beveled laces lc, lcl and the guide rails l), E is greater than that between the contiguous straight laces oll the two bars. rhe result is that during such initial movement olI the bar l, the corresponding picker-rever is rocked to the position shown in Fig. 7 by its connection with the bar l, bringing its picker-linger over the corresponding string ready to pick it. This rocking movement ol.l the lever is limited by its inner lug y coming in contact with the stoppin l, and as soon as this occurs, the lever acts as a rigid coupling i'or the tivo bars and the carrying bar Tl descends with the l during the remainder oi the strole ol' the latter, thereby causing the hnger g1 to piclr the string. 8 shows the position olthe parts just alter the 'linger has picked the string and before the licy is released. Upon releasing the depressed liey, the strained si ng ,il reacts and raises the shifting l and the key to their former position. luring the initial upward movement of the bar i, the ascent of the bar il is retarded or arrested by its lov/'er bevi ward movement was previously retarded by the upper beveled lace lc.

By such initial upward movement olthe bar l relative to the bar il, the projected picker-lever is rocked in the opposite direction in an obvious manner, thus '.lrdrawing its picker-ringer 'from underneath the corresponding string, as shown in Fig.

rl"his reversal of the lever .1 1,... i. 1, l again clings .ts otnei lug against the stoppin l and t e @ends with the bar i, raising the picker-lever to its former position 'with its linger above but clear ol' the string, preparatory to the nent depression oi the lr y, as shown in Fig. 6. lt will be understood from the foregoing, that the shifting car o'r' each pair ot bars momentarily moves independentlv ot and in a vance et the companion bar lil to a suliicient extent to project the picker device to its operative position on the doufnu'ard stroke ot the bar l and to Withdraw the picker device to its inoperative position on the return strolre et the last-named bar.

claim as my invention i. The combination et a case provided with a guide-Way and a door in line With said guide-Way, stringed instrument removably arranged in said guide Tafay, and pickerinechanism cooperating with said instrument, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a case, a soundboard removably arranged in the case, strings strungon opposite sides of the soundboard, a series ot pickers cooperating with each set ot string` and piano-keys for actuatsaid pickers, substantially as set forth.

in an instrument ot vthe character dethe combination ot a sound-produc- Y t, and picker mechanism comprising bar and a cooperating carrying bar moi/*able ienyln'sise to a limited extent independently of each other, a picker-lever tulcrumed on said carrying bar, connected with said shitting bar and having a pair of stops, a stop on the carrying bar cooperating With aid lever-stops tor limiting the swinging nove-ment olf the pi .er-lever, means for retarding the movement oi the carrying bar, nl means tor actuating said shitting bar, substantially as set iorth.

fl. an instrument of the character describe l, the combination of a sound-producing part, and picker mechanism comprising a pair of cooperating bars movable lengthwise to a limited extent independently of each other, guides tor said bars, one ot the bars being provided with beveled or inclined faces bearn against said guides, a spring for pressing said beveled bar against said guides, a picker-lever iulcruined on the beveled bar and having a pivotal connection With the other bar, and means for actuating the lastnamed bar, substantially as set forth.

o. ln an instrument of the character de- I ari ing oar la thereupon asscribed, the combination of a sound-producing part, and picker mechanism comprising` a pair of cooperating bars movable lengtl'i- Wise to a limited extent independently of each other, guides for said bars, one of the bars beingx provided With beveled or inclined faces bearing against said guides, a spring` bearing afainst the other bar for 'vressine bar to the nickel' device a return-s rinO o o o Q l 7 c said beveled bar against said guides, a pickerlever fulciumed on the beveled bar and having a pivotal connection with the other bar, and means for actuating the last-named bar, substantially as set forth.

6. in an instrument of the character described, the combination of a sound-producing part, and picker-mechanism comprising` a shifting bar and an adjoining carrying-bar movable length rise to a limited extent independently of each other, guides for said bars, said carrying` bar having beveled faces which recede toward the center of the bar and bear against said guides, springs acting on said shifting bar and operating,` to press the carrying bar against its guides, a picker-lever pivot-ed to the carrying bar and having` a pivotal connection with the shifting bar, the lever having a pair oi stop-lugs, and a stop on the carrying bar cooperating With said lugs, substantially as set forth.

7. in an instrument of the character described7 the combination of a soundproduc ing part, and picker-mechanism comprising a shifting bar and a cooperating` carrying bar movable to a limited extent independentlyT of each other7 a picker device mounted on said carrying bar and movable thereon, means for transmitting the movement of said shifting` 1 eratingto move said shifting` bar to its initial position and at the saine time press the saine against said carrying-bar, and means for actnating` said shifting` bar, substantially as set forth.

S. ln an instrument of the character described, the combination ol'l a sound-produc ing part, and picker-mechanism comprising a shifting bar and a cooperating carryingl bai'7 guides for said bars, a picker device movably mounted on said carrying,I bar and connected With said shiftingl bar, a key and a spring` connecting the liey with said shifting bar and constructed to press the latter against said carrying bar, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this lth day of January, 1908.

JOSEPH A. BOEHRINGER.

YWitnesses C. F. Gerini, E. M. GRAHAM. 

